New health app to send alerts for unhealthy lifestyle choices

A research team at IIT-Kharagpur is developing a mobile application which can monitor day-to-day activities and smoking habits of an individual and make suitable recommendations.

The sensor-based health app will send alerts to the user, warning him about his unhealthy lifestyle choices, an IIT-KGP statement said. (Representational Image)

A research team at IIT-Kharagpur is developing a mobile application which can monitor day-to-day activities and smoking habits of an individual and make suitable recommendations. The sensor-based health app will send alerts to the user, warning him about his unhealthy lifestyle choices, an IIT-KGP statement said Thursday.

The new tracking kit, being developed by Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship at IIT-Kharagpur, can also go a long way in gauging addictive and depressive behaviour, it said. “The technology, once integrated with a smartphone or a fitness band, will prepare a daily activity chart based on body movements and predict functions such as eating and drinking. The application can also monitor call and message logs and smartphone usage,” the statement said.

Ram Babu Roy, assistant professor at (RMSoEE), said the application will provide personalized services after data analysis. “We did a pilot study on four participants. The research team collected GPS data as well other location-based information and took note of their physical movement. It helped us create health and behavioural profiles of the individuals,” Roy, who is leading project, said.

The app will be able to process data in different environments and demarcate between “normal and abnormal activities”, he added.